A Bitter Soul, to be a Bitter Key
by Palomino Viper
Summary: The easiest way to lose your grasp on what's real and what's a dream isn't building things from memory.It's meeting someone in your dreams, almost every night, and then actually having to meet him for real. Set within film. Full summary on author page.
1. Keep it to Yourself

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Inception... sigh... I wish I did... But please! Nobody should go off copying my OC ok?**

A/N: I previously deleted this story to edit the first chapter further... If you want a better summary just go to my fanfic page. Anyway, this story is gonna take a while, and I have no idea when I'll be able to get the next chapter through. Anyway, if you want insurance that I'll continue this story, the best way to get it is to submit reviews and put this story on your alerts list :D I do NOT accept flaming, but I am open to constructive criticism. R&R please! **OR I WON'T CONTINUE!  
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She is a wolf, running under the full moon, feeling the cold, mountain wind comb through her ice-white fur. She is pure power, her muscles rippling as she runs down her prey. Exhilaration lifts her from the ground as she leaps, landing on top of the hare, biting down in savage pleasure. The sweet taste of flesh and blood warming her mouth is a celebration of her hunting prowess as her fangs tear the stringy meat, her whole animal self relishing the kill as she consumes it. Something emerges from the flesh she is eating, something strange. A coin. Her wet nose touches it tentatively, and her ears prick as the cold metal stings her wet nose.

Something is coming towards her, in the silvered darkness.

The white she-wolf lifts her head towards the sound of cracking twigs and notices that whatever it is, its scent is strangely masked; nonexistent. As if the forest is moving toward her on two legs. She turns to face it fully, her hackles rising as a low growl emerges from her throat. He is human, but has no scent. She must be dreaming. Abruptly, she stops growling.

"You're here. So is the coin," she says, her voice deep and throaty, impossibly coming from her wolf's throat and tongue. "I'm dreaming, then."

He stares at her but doesn't answer, the only sound reaching her ears from him being the sound of his breathing. She sniffs uncaringly, a human gesture coming from a wolf. She lowers her head to wipe the blood staining her muzzle off on a paw, but instead finds that her paw is gone, replaced by a pale hand with slender fingers. She is human.

She stands as she wipes the blood from her face delicately, then moves to face him. His blue eyes bore into her with a strange intensity, although the rest of his face is expressionless.

"You know, you've been doing this every night ever since I left my family," she says, brushing some stray strands of dark hair out of her face as she returns his gaze. "You're no stranger to me, but still, I don't know you. Who are you?"

He continues to stare at her, not answering.

"Who the hell are you?" she yells, and her husky voice is harsh, always on the boarder of breaking. She leans back against the tree and pants, her breath steaming in the cold night. The bark is rough, comforting yet strange against her back. Suddenly shocked by the feeling of the bark against bare skin, she glances down at herself and realizes she's utterly naked. She glances back at him in panic just as he steps towards her, his mouth open to speak.

"Arthur and I are coming for our architect. She's the right one. She's Ariadne," he says, and although hearing his voice at last is sweet, it cannot calm her panic as he walks towards her.

* * *

"Karis!" a voice jerked her out of her dream, it's urgency pulling her into the grip of reality. _Ariadne, _Karis realized groggily, just as a hand reached out and began to shake her into wakefulness. Karis moaned, opening her eyes a crack before screwing them shut again as sunlight blinded her.

"I'm up… I'm up!" she said indignantly as Ariadne shook her some more.

"What time is it?" Karis asked.

"Eleven thirty. In case you forgot, today we have Professor Miles at one thirty, but _you_ have your philosophy at three. So you'd better start getting ready. I don't know how you can sleep so long," Ariadne said as she cleared away what seemed to have been her breakfast from the small table in their dorm.

"Let's just say I love dreaming," Karis said wryly as she got out of bed, running her fingers lazily through her long, wavy black hair.

Ariadne pushed a bowl and milk carton and cereal box toward Karis as she sat down across from her.

"Ugh. Ariadne… I told you I don't usually go for breakfast… Remember?" Karis said, slightly whining, but she took the spoon anyway and tentatively took a bite. She seemed to decide it was ok, and continued eating, small, quick bites which she swallowed hastily, as if afraid to taste anything.

"Whatever, Karis. You don't go for any food at all usually because you're so caught up in your perfect dreamworld, right?" Ariadne said teasingly, a slightly amused quirk to her lips. The two were acting amused to each others' faces, but Ariadne wondered how much of their conversation was true sometimes. When she had met Karis three years ago, things had been tense and awkward, due to Karis' drug-influenced behavior, not to mention the fact that she spent so much time sleeping. It was only after Ariadne had finally had enough and had had an outburst of frustration that Karis, well, _became nice._ Ariadne still wasn't sure if she had stopped taking drugs though.

Ariadne watched her black haired roommate eat breakfast quietly for a few seconds, and soon determined something was wrong. Karis' hands were shaking ever so slightly, and every time the gaze of her blue eyes would wander or go distant, Ariadne could almost see Karis pull herself sharply back to reality. It was usually the opposite for Karis.

"What's wrong?" Ariadne asked, breaking the silence by tossing a few words carelessly at her roommate.

Karis laughed shortly, and though she meant for it to be reassuring, it only sounded bitter to both of them. She shook her head bitterly while scowling, avoiding Ariadne's eyes.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, her voice matching her expression. She sighed. "Nothing a dose of reality can't fix."

"Doesn't that mean there is something wrong?" Ariadne said, the tone of her voice making her sound slightly superior, as if she knew Karis' mind better than Karis did. Which, sometimes, she did.

Karis' jaw clenched, and it was clear to see that Ariadne had struck a nerve with the tone of her voice. Karis pushed the three-quarters finished cereal away from her, a foul look on her face as she stood up from the table abruptly and walked towards the bathroom.

Ariadne sighed indignantly, getting up to follow with a roll of her eyes. Arriving at the bathroom, she found Karis leaning over the sink, splashing cold water on her face. Leaning against the doorframe, Ariadne crossed her arms and tried to make her voice apologetic.

"Look, Karis, I'm sorry how I made that sound, alright?" she said as Karis lifted her eyes to the mirror and saw Ariadne's reflection in the background. "It's just that after three years of knowing you, we're still-"

"It's fine!" Karis interrupted abruptly and shortly, before burying her face in a towel. _Don't say it, Ariadne, or I'll kill you_, she thought. _Stop trying to get close to me._

"Karis-"

"I said it's fine, Ariadne," she said, cutting Ariadne off again. This time when she turned to meet her roommate's eyes, there a was a smile on her lips. "Better get out. I'm gonna shower."

Ariadne returned the smile a little more warmly, though she still rolled her eyes at Karis slightly before turning to leave as Karis began stripping, not even waiting for Ariadne to close the door behind her.

Once the door was closed and locked behind her, Karis leaned heavily against the sink, her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, and closed her eyes, breathing shallowly through her lips. She raised her piercingly bright blue eyes to her reflection and studied herself. Though her eyes were piercing, they were considered so because they seemed always focused on a distant horizon. When she looked at people, it seemed as if she were looking, _into_ and _beyond _them, as if within every person she was looking at a landscape and she was seeing right through them to the horizon. Her brows were prominent, though they had never needed to be plucked or threaded, and her nose was generally fine-boned. Actually, despite close to too-prominent features, particularly her strong jaw and gaunt cheeks, Karis' face was built from fine bones. She scowled at her wide-eyed reflection, making it disappear beneath a layer of anger and disdain.

"I look a lot like my corporate-tool brother, don't I?" she whispered bitterly. "Tell me, brother. How is our _father_, huh, Robert?" Angrily, she dumped her nightshift to the floor, as she spun around to stomp her way into the shower.

"I won't let you leave me behind, whoever you are. You can't take Ariadne without taking me. Not when you've been in my dreams for so long," she whispered to herself as scalding hot water poured down on her in lacerating streams.

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A/N: So how was it? :D Reviews please!

~P. Viper


	2. Amateur Tails

**N/A: Second Chapter! Yay! So I decided it'd be better for me to churn out the next chapter as soon as possible, instead of waiting for all sorts of things... Heh... Anyway, you guys had BETTER enjoy it OR ELSE. Haha! Just Kidding... Seriously though... Only one review for the first chapter? *pouts* I NEED REVIEWS TO CONTINUE PEOPLE!**

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Karis caught a glimpse of him as she and Ariadne left Professor Miles' class that afternoon. He was striding into the university, his confident gait and smooth pace indicating that he knew his way around. Only his gaze which seemed to be warily taking in his surroundings implied that he hadn't been in the university for quite some time. The sight of him made Karis feel awash with cold. Against her will, she found that she was frozen to the spot, her hand on the metal banister of the stairs, just standing there, staring, as panic trapped her heart and squeezed it.

"Karis?" Ariadne stopped a few steps down and looked back to see her roommate staring into space, her face clouded with anxiety. Her shoulders were rising and falling with shaky breath, as if she had run a long distance.

"Karis, what's wrong?" Walking back up the two steps that separated them, Ariadne reached up and lightly touched the cold hand that was gripping the banister with white knuckles, only to hear Karis gasp as she jerked away from Ariadne.

"Don't touch me!" Karis snapped, her blue eyes wild as she stumbled backward, away from Ariadne. Her movement made her fall backward, hitting the stone steps painfully as her bag tumbled of her shoulder and down the stairs. Ariadne frowned as Karis sprawled on the stairs, desperately pushing herself away from Ariadne.

"What the hell, Karis?" Ariadne said, bending down to pick up Karis' bag as she strode up the stairs to close the gap between them.

Karis whimpered and panicked, knocking away Ariadne's hand with a ringing slap.

"_I said don't touch me!" _

People were staring at her. _I'm dreaming, _Karis thought, as her vision began to blur and distort as she began hyper ventilating. _I'm dreaming, he's here. Oh God, oh God, I'm crazy. They're staring at me. Don't touch me, Ariadne, don't touch me! _

"Karis! Stop it, you're scaring me!" Ariadne yelled, shoving Karis' bag into the girl's chest. "Snap out of it!"

Karis gasped as Ariadne reached down and forced her to stand up, jerking her out of her panic with a rough pull on her hands. A ringing slap forced Karis back into her wits as Ariadne grabbed her face and forced her to meet her roommate's eyes. Shocked, Karis pushed Ariadne away –gently this time- as she rubbed her stinging cheek.

"I'm sorry, Ariadne," she said wretchedly as tears spilt over her black lashes. "I'll see you later, in the room."

"Wait, Karis-" Ariadne began, but she was already gone, her black hair whipping behind her as she ran away.

Sobbing, Karis locked herself in the comfort room and bent over a sink, splashing cold water on her face.

"Calm down," she said to herself, her eyes closed as she hugged herself, the water in the sink left running. "Just calm down. This is real. This is _real._ Remember, Karis? You dreamt that he would be here, remember? He even told you himself, didn't he?" she said to herself, her deep voice shaking and broken.

Finally slowing her breathing, Karis opened her eyes to find that despite the water droplets clinging to her face, she was outwardly calm and composed, her face more or less expressionless. Fixing a sardonic smirk on her lips, she dried her face and strode out of the comfort room, her head held high and confident. _I know what to do,_ she thought to herself, her mind chilled with cunning and manipulation.

* * *

Arthur walked briskly, holding a slip of paper in one hand, his luggage in the other. Finally coming to the address indicated by the paper, he slowed down and looked up at the building.

Originally meant to be a storage building for a museum, the building had some pretty impressive doors and columns, but overall, it gave off the feeling of an abandoned warehouse. Inside, it was much brighter than a warehouse, much better actually. Smaller versions of the columns outside supported the ceilings, and the walls were practically all window. Frosted glass, luckily, so they could keep the same amount of lighting without the risk of someone seeing inside. The lower levels of the building had even more of a warehouse feel, or rather, underground parking. These rooms were lit only by flourescent lamps, and had the choking atmosphere of old cement. These rooms, they wouldn't use.

Arthur returned to the higher floors, and began setting out their equipment on the left over, rusted furniture, briskly and efficiently looking over the suitcases and the extracting equipment they held inside, as well as setting out the phials which held the drugs to put the team under. As he was going about cleaning things up, his mind turned to the new architect, whom Cobb had briefly pointed out to him before he took her for the "job interview". _She's cute,_ Arthur thought to himself, smirking slightly. He still wasn't so sure if she could be trusted though.

Then he remembered. _The tail. That's right. What to do about that one? _He remembered as Cobb told Ariadne to wait a moment at the foot of a flight of stairs which led to the roof, before coming over to Arthur. Ariadne did as she was told. Further down the hallway, Arthur noticed a tall, black haired woman with gaunt and high-cut cheekbones making her way towards Ariadne. Arthur could tell she was focusing on Ariadne because of the way her gaze roamed. She strode with a destination in mind, but her gaze wasn't focused ahead. No, it skittered and shifted, looking furtively and warily around, looking everywhere _except_ at Ariadne. Just before she walked into Ariadne's direct line of sight, the black haired woman turned and faced the row of lockers by the wall, and, fumbling with her pockets, dropped the key. As she stooped to pick it up, her gaze did a last sweep of her surroundings, before her eyes, over Cobb's shoulder as he walked, met Arthur's gaze. That was the one moment that proved to Arthur that she was tailing either one of them. It could be him, Cobb, or also their new architect. As her gaze accidentally met Arthur's, for a fraction of a second, her eyes widened, as if she were scared, before she picked up the key and opened her locker, and began to concentrate _too much_ on simply putting her books inside. As she pulled out what must have been the last book from her bag, Arthur watched as she opened up at a random page, and began to read. Her eyes bored into the page she was holding before her eyes, but didn't shift back and forth the way they should when reading text. At that moment Cobb stood in front of him, holding out a small sheet of paper.

"I'm going to see if she's good enough. Get this place prepped up in the meantime," he said quietly. "We'll see you there."

Before Arthur could even nod, Cobb was walking back to where the architect was waiting. Arthur shook his head slightly in irritation, before looking back at the black haired girl. She was still "reading" but as Arthur turned to walk away, he saw her close the book and lock it into her locker hastily, before picking up her bag and moving towards the door, trying to look as if she weren't following someone. _Nice try,_ he thought smugly. She clearly wasn't working for anyone, as her look, her manner, her books, _everything_, told Arthur she was a student. And there was something in her gaze, some determined, immoveable will, that told him she was doing this for herself. But still, there was that question: Why?

A rusty sounding buzz jerked Arthur out of his thoughts. He paused, waiting, and counted the seconds that passed. _One, two_… Two more quick buzzes, followed by a long one that lasted two seconds. Hastily, Arthur ran down to open the door for Cobb.

"Come on in, this place is great," Arthur said dryly as he opened the door and admitted Cobb and Ariadne. "So are you our new architect?" he said to Ariadne, noticing too late that Cobb was shaking his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said, a puzzled frown appearing on her face.

"Oh, nothing," Arthur said, quickly covering it up. "My name's Arthur."

"Ariadne," she said, shaking his hand.

"Let's get to work," Cobb said, all business and urgency as he pushed past Arthur to head upstairs.

As Arthur closed the door, he peered outside. Sure enough, leaning against a lamppost, the tail was there, holding open a sketch pad and drawing what seemed to be, by her gaze and position, the building next to their new work place. Arthur smirked as he closed the door and locked it. _First of all, you were, again _concentrating too much_, __second, you just gave away the fact that you're also taking architecture. Interesting, but I'll have to tell Cobb before you get too troublesome_, Arthur thought amusedly. And then another thought struck him. She looked familiar. He was sure he didn't know her, but still… She looked _way _too familiar to be good.

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KYAAA! So there's the second chapter! Yay! I REALLY NEED REVIEWS RIGHT NOW! Sorry, but Favs and Alerts aren't enough for me *grins sheepishly* Heh. Just hit the Review button, please? Or else I might find it REALLY HARD to continue (I already am actually :-/)

Anyway, thanks for reading!

~P. Viper


	3. Dreaming the Corner Cafe

A/N: So finally, here's the next chapter... You might have noticed before (though I'm not sure) that I usually write the dream sequences in present tense. In this chapter I didn't because I decided to include the dream sequence as a flashback instead... Just in case you might be wondering. Also, I'm getting pretty confused with the timelines and all... I'm not exactly sure _when_ Cobb "stopped" dreaming, so... Anyway, I plan on clarifying matters in the later chapters... I don't want to give it all away! :D So please, read and enjoy! (and maybe review?)  


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"Cobb, we have a tail."

"Cobol Engineering." It wasn't a question. Arthur raised his brows at Cobb, before smirking slightly as he looked away from his colleague. The two were in the main working room of the team, Cobb leaning against one of the pillars with his arms crossed, while Arthur sat, rocking and balancing his chair on its two back legs. It was a bad habit of his. They had been discussing Ariadne earlier on, a topic which reminded Arthur of the black haired woman who followed them. He opened his mouth to speak, wondering how Cobb would react to this piece of information.

"No. She's a student. Much too obvious and amateur to be hired."

"From the college?"

Arthur nodded, leaning forward with his lips pursed and his hands clasped in front of him as he watched Cobb for a reaction.

"I suspect she's taking architecture."

"What gave her away?"

"She was supposedly drawing the building next door when you and Ariadne came in."

Cobb frowned and chewed on his lip, thinking. "Check in on her while I go to Mombasa."

"Mombasa? That's Cobol Engineering's backyard."

"I'll take the risks. We're gonna need a forger."

"Wait, Cobb. This tail..." Arthur blurted out suddenly, before Cobb could leave the building.

"I told you to check in on her," Cobb said, not stopping as he walked away.

"It's not that. I've been doing my own research, before Saito gives us full background on our target. The problem is, she looks too much like the target for it to be just coincidence."

"A relative?" Cobb asked, turning around to face Arthur. His face was somewhere between a scowl and a frown, giving him an irritated but puzzled look.

"I suspect an illegitimate sibling. Nothing's come up about her so far. And I see no possible way for her to have known anything about what we're doing."

"You say she could be taking architecture?" Cobb said, his eyebrows raised at Arthur.

"You don't suppose… You think Ariadne would give us away?"

"It's impossible. I would have seen her if she had had any interaction with Ariadne from the time Ariadne was introduced to me. And it seems she knew of us even before Ariadne did, for her to follow you, and not me."

"So that only leaves us with… Nothing. Except that she might be taking architecture and that her face says she's _closely _related to our mark." Arthur said thoughtfully, rocking his chair back again.

"Check in on Miles. See if you can get anything from him. You'll likely see her in his class if she really is taking architecture."

"And what if she is? What do I do if I meet her?"

"Find out if she's a threat. We can deal with the rest when we have our whole team," Cobb said, finally walking out. "I'll be back in a few days," he said over his shoulder, just as he walked out of sight.

* * *

Karis screamed in anger as she woke in the middle of the night. Luckily, her yell of rage was muffled. Apparently her sheets had somehow become drawn around her head, and her mouth had been pressed into her pillow. It was a wonder Karis didn't suffocate.

She had been dreaming of _him._ Cobb. She had learned his name that night, at a nice Parisian-type corner café called Café Debussy. The type of place Ariadne would go to for a coffee.

In the dream, Karis and Cobb had been sitting at a table on the sidewalk, talking. She had asked him if he was going to talk to her that time, and he surprised her by saying "yes." That was how the rest of their conversation began.

"Arthur and I just had a discussion about you. You're tailing is pretty amateur. We know your face, we know you might be taking architecture…"

"Oh really? And what about my name? As it is, I know Arthur's. Not yours."

"Cobb. And no, neither I nor Arthur know your name."

"Karis Oake."

"Might you be related to Robert Fischer? You look a lot like him."

That made Karis' eyes throw daggers at him and her jaw clenched as her long fingers wrapped around her coffee. She pursed her lips displeasingly.

"No," she had said, a little too sharply. Cobb smirked and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together over his stomach.

"So why have you been following Arthur around? You didn't do a very good job, tailing him."

"Was I really that obvious?"

Cobb chuckled as he nodded, looking away.

"Well good, because I was trying to be."

"And why?" Cobb asked, sipping his coffee.

"Well, you're here now, aren't you? That's all I really wanted, you see. Your attention."

"Now, why would you want that?" Cobb asked, nonchalant but wondering. Karis scowled.

"Don't pretend to act all innocent! You've been in my dreams for a long time now, you've even seen me at my worst –or even naked- in some circumstances, and yet you never spoke to me until recently!" she snapped, almost slamming her cup back down onto its saucer.

Cobb's demeanor changed suddenly at her words. He stared into space suddenly as he gravely sipped his coffee, before breathing deeply and turning to face her, his own face clouded over.

"I'm afraid I'm innocent."

"You're not, you've been-"

"I don't dream anymore, Karis," he said insistently, willing her to believe him. "I haven't dreamed in a long time, or so I lead myself to believe. As soon as I wake, all my memories of anything that happens here will be gone, and I'll go on believing I've never known you, until I sleep again."

Shocked into silence, Karis looked into her now empty cup, clenching her jaw. At the bottom lay an ancient-looking coin, with intricate designs upon its surface. _This is unfair_, she thought. _All these years, I've waited for you, in dreams. But in reality, I'm still nothing, a nobody._

"Dom? What are you doing?" A voice came from behind them, sweet and wondering, though with a menacing undercurrent that made Karis' spine tingle.

Karis frowned, and shifted in her chair, about to turn around and look at the stranger, when a strong hand slammed into hers, pinning her wrist to the table.

"Please. Make sure I don't look at her," Cobb had said urgently as he gripped Karis' wrist with one hand, the other covering his eyes as his body tensed.

"Who is she?" Karis asked, her brows furrowing when Cobb didn't let go of her hand.

"Dom. Are you…? Why are you with her? Why won't you look at me?" the voice grew shrill, demanding. "Look at me!"

A slender hand had then grabbed at Karis' shoulder, shaking her, and forcing her to turn around to face the intruder. A wild gaze met hers, from eyes crazed and wide, of a warmer shade of blue than Karis' own.

Mal stared at Karis, her face looking angered; betrayed.

"Who are you?" Karis asked, looking up at Mal unfazed. In the dream, she had been dimly aware of how she must have looked, with her hand trapped beneath Cobb's. But she hadn't cared much until the beautiful woman with hazel curls informed her archly that she was Cobb's wife. Karis had been about to turn back to tell Cobb that he was being stupid -why didn't he just face her and inform her that nothing was going on between them?- when Mal had suddenly stabbed her, repeatedly, over and over again in the gut. It wasn't the shock of dying that woke Karis. It was more of the sudden anger at the fact that there she was, unable to do anything as she was murdered in one of her own dreams. Hadn't she always been powerful, strong and controlling in her dreams before?

"Stupid bitch," Karis muttered to herself in her dorm as she remembered how her dream ended. She had tried to keep her voice soft, as it was the middle of the night, but Ariadne heard anyway.

"What was that?" Ariadne asked, her voice muffled and covered by sleep.

"Nothing." Karis said, trying to make her voice soft and soothing. Not that that was what her voice was ever like, but it was worth trying.

Ariadne hadn't slept well the last night, and it seemed as if this night had little improvement for her. Karis could still hear her toss and turn, sometimes punctuated by groans or soft muttering.

_Of course she won't be sleeping well from now on. At least not until she goes back, _Karis said inwardly. _Maybe even then._ With this thought, she curled up and went back to sleep, smirking slightly in satisfaction.

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**Reviews? :D I am very very review hungry... Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter... sigh... Give me a reason to keep writing by reviewing, eh?**

**~P. Viper  
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